I'm not sure why, but when I rented Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita" yesterday, despite really wanting to see it, I was a little put off by it's length. Not because a 2 and a half hour film is that hard to get through, but because a 2 and a half hour Kubrick film can be hard to get through, haha. What was there in A Space Odyssey, like 20 minutes of that one shot of monkeys or something? Haha, not to say thats bad, obviously, if I had been able to get through all of 2001 yet...I'd probably say it's really good!! Lol, I loved Clockwork, Full Metal Jacket, and looove The Shining, like every one should. These are obviously just pure, well made films. I guess I just wasn't ready for a story as interesting as "Lolita" to put me to sleep. Well, fortunately, I was completely wrong!! Ha, "Lolita" was 2 and a half hours of straight, well paced goodness!!The film, released in 1962, is apparently really tame compared to the novel, which is really racey, due to the time it was released and the strict censorship laws around at that time. Some might say this hurts the film, but it didn't really bother me. It's not hard to figure out whats about to go down when the screen fades to black, ha. I didn't mind seeing Humbert as a sympathetic character, either. A man who just happens to fall in love with this bracing, blistering young girl. It almost seems that, in the film anyway, it was Lolita herself that took the relationship from lust to love, not Humbert. I'm not sure how it plays out in the novel, but I wonder that if Lolita hadn't initiated anything...would anything have ever happened? Humbert seemed more fascinated with her, and it was Lo that took that to the next level. Humbert's obsession on the other hand....well, lets say he gots it baaaad, and this is not good. It makes for an interesting story though!! And pretty much drives most of the film. Back to my point though, I really love that the film doesn't explain how or why he becomes so obsessed with Lolita, which he does in a matter of seconds, something I've read the novel does do. Do we all really know exactly how or why we become enamored with some of the people that we do? No, and it always really does happen in a matter of seconds, too.
The character of Lolita herself, film version anyway, is just incredible. She's cute, she's bratty, she's smart. She's the kind of girl who at 14, has already got herself completely figured out. She's like part Donna and part Lux Lisbon...and aren't those the two greatest types of girls? Humbert knows whats up, too bad he's not, you know, a freshman in highschool haha. Anyway, Sue Lyon plays her perfectly, and I think she half way makes her. Noone else could have done it as good, I'm sure of it. She's awesome.
Looking back, I'm not sure if it was coke sippin bombshell Lolita or and the amazing appearence of Lolita Coleslaw that sealed the deal for me, but I loved it!!
Great film, the cherry slushee and oreos I had during it were delicious too. Boy do I like a well paced Kubrick movie...
